Solid stone structures, such as stone posts and stone slabs are highly sought after as building materials in a living space or work space. For example, granite posts may be desired to be used as mailbox posts or lamp posts by people seeking a long-lasting, high-quality look for the exterior of their living space, such as a drive way or yard, or work space, such as with columns of a building. Solid stone structures not only provide durability with whatever they may support, but they are also aesthetically pleasing, and thus highly desired.
However, the use of solid stone structures does have some drawbacks, including the cost of a solid stone structure, the inconvenience of installing the solid stone structure, and the inability of the solid stone structure to perform functions beyond supporting another article. The costs of solid stone structures are usually very high, due to the fact that solid stone structures are derived from relatively large pieces of stone, which are harder to find and harder to process into a finished product. In contrast, smaller stone materials may be relatively inexpensive, since they can be derived from the offcuts and manufacturing byproducts of processing large stones. Even the smallest solid stone posts and pillars may weigh hundreds of pounds. They can be very difficult to install since they may require a team of workers and a large footing to secure them in, such as a large hole or a concrete base. Often, heavy machinery is needed to lift the solid stone structure into an installation position.
Another drawback of solid stone structures is that it can be difficult to install fixtures and other items to them. While some solid stone posts have small holes bored through them for carrying an electrical line to a light affixed to the top of the post, it can be very difficult to bore a hole, since it requires drilling through solid stone. Furthermore, it is impossible to bore center holes with non-arced outer surfaces, such as 90° angles. While bracketry is available within the art to mount some fixtures to solid stone posts, the bracketry is generally limited to threaded fasteners which are affixed within the outermost layer of the stone post and often can inadvertently release.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.